The Professional Photoshop Book - Volume 7 2015

MIX MULTIPLE IMAGES USING BLEND MODES AND

MASKS FOR A DOUBLE EXPOSURE EFFECT

CREATE A DOUBLE

EXPOSURE EFFECT

M

ultiple exposure is a popular

photographic technique in which the film

is purposefully exposed multiple times,

resulting in one or more images

superimposed over the original.

Double exposure, as you’ve probably already

surmised, is a blend of two images. It seems to have

taken root as the blanket moniker for this style of

blended imagery, whether there are just two or

many images at play. Photoshop’s arsenal of blend

modes and layer tricks makes it very well suited for

pulling off these types of effects. Stacking images,

playing with the various blend modes, and masking

unneeded areas is the fundamental workflow for

COMMENCE THE BLENDING

SELECT THE OWL USING THE QUICK SELECTION TOOL AND REFINE EDGE, THEN PREPARE THE DOCUMENT

achieving a double exposure look. Here we’ll blend

an owl with some scenes from its habitat using

the described battle plan. Adjustment layers and

filters will then be employed to lock down the look.

After completing the tutorial, try creating your

own blends with complementary or dissimilar

subjects. Although jarring mash-ups can

occasionally be the disappointing result of your

blending, stick with it! Elegant and sometimes

haunting juxtapositions are up for grabs to those

who persist. A good artistic eye can help your

judgement in selecting compatible images, while

luck and experimentation can lead you to

unexpected beauty.

01

ISOLATE THE OWL

Open Owl.psd. Use the Quick Selection

tool to select the owl. Go to Select>Refine Edge

and use the Refine Radius tool to paint the

edges. Play with Adjust Edge settings. For

Output, choose Layer Mask and click OK. To fix

areas, click mask and use the Brush tool with a

Soft Round brush to paint black to hide and white

to reveal. Adjust brush size opacity as needed.

02

PLACE THE OWL

Save and close Owl.psd and open Start.

psd. Go to File>Place (Place Linked in CC) and grab

Owl.psd. The scale up, position, and confirm. Press

the Add layer mask button in the Layers palette.

Press Cmd/Ctrl+J to duplicate. Select the lower

layer and apply Color Overlay via the layer palette’s

fx button. Pick black then click OK. Now paint black

in both masks to reduce.

03

ADD MOUNTAINS AND TREES

Select the top layer and Place (Place

Embedded in CC) Mountains.jpg. Set to Lighten

blend mode. Cmd/Ctrl+click the owl thumbnail and

then press the Add layer mask button. Place Tree.

jpg then position it and confirm. Set to Hard Light

blend mode. Option/Alt+click and drag the previous

layer mask over to this layer. Paint black in both

masks to reduce.

FROM SIMPLE TO BLENDED

WORK IN

PROGRESS

Progress 1: Isolate the owl

Progress 2: Blend multiple

images together

Progress 3: Finalise

blending and adjustments

ANDRE VILLANUEVA

http://www.000-000-0000.com

OUR EXPERT

Villanueva is a former college

Photoshop teacher and is

currently an art director. Born in

the Philippines, he now resides

with his family in Alabama, USA.

He enjoys sharing his techniques

with our readers.

SOURCE FILES

The owl and starting PSD, along with

the additional images for blending

within the owl, are available from the

FileSilo. Feel free to incorporate your

own imagery into the mix.

Create a double exposure eff ect

The Professional Photoshop Book 53

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